American Masters: 'When You're Strange' The Doors

PBS' 'American Masters': "When You're Strange, a film about The Doors" airs tonight 9:00 PM to 10:30 P.M. on PBS (check local listings). Johnny Depp narrates this feature documentary, the first ever, about the "creative chemistry of four brilliant artists – drummer John Densmore, guitarist Robby Krieger, keyboardist Ray Manzarek and singer Jim Morrison – made The Doors one of America’s most iconic and influential, theatrical and mysterious, thrilling and sometime frightening rock bands."

Writer/director Tom DiCillo said from the outset he'd decided to only use original footage of the band, much previously unseen, and shot from the band's early formative years of the mid-sixties up to Jim Morrison's death in 1971. “To me, there is nothing more powerful and riveting that seeing Robby Krieger, Ray Manzarek, John Densmore and Jim Morrison leap into life on the screen.” The PBS presentation of 'American Masters': "When You're Strange, a film about The Doors" airs tonight 9:00 PM to 10:30 P.M. on PBS (check local listings).

American Masters: When You’re Strange is directed and written by Tom DiCillo and produced by John Beug, Jeff Jampol, Peter Jankowski and Dick Wolf. Johnny Depp narrates. Susan Lacy is the series creator and executive producer of American Masters.

American Masters is made possible by the support of the National Endowment for the Arts and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Additional funding for American Masters is provided by Rosalind P. Walter, The Blanche & Irving Laurie Foundation, Jack Rudin, Elizabeth Rosenthal in memory of Rolf W. Rosenthal, The André and Elizabeth Kertész Foundation, Michael & Helen Schaffer Foundation, and public television viewers.

Interview with Jim Morrison's Father and Sister Admiral George S. Morrison and Anne Morrison-Chewning give the first interview about Jim’s musical career with The Doors. Jim’s father, a military man, relives his struggle to understand his son as an artist and his sister gives new insights into Jim’s creative struggles while living in the limelight.

I really enjoyed the documentary I had no idea the problems The Doors had. Their music has always been a part of my adult life but I don't even remember hearing about the hard times they had at their concerts. It seems a lot of times artists have a hard time fitting into mainstream society.

Outstanding documentary! It really help me understand the band,the caos of the era, and there struggles to manuvere through that decade! I cant beleive they were only together for
54 months! Very cool!

Some thirty-six years since Morrison's death, it's amazing what distance does to one's perspective. Watching this film, I could only marvel at the forebearance and professionalism of Manzarek, Krieger and Densmore in the face of Morrison's antics and stunts. I can't deny Morrison's persistent allure, the unique quality of his voice (which he apparently had serious doubts about), or his native talent, but in retrospect, his actions and persona seem infantile, pretentious, self-indulgent and embarrassing.